St Luke's Hospice Plymouth's iconic Midnight Walk takes to the city's streets tonight, with a sell-out 1,100 crowd signed up to be part of a poignant, inclusive and fun remembrance event, raising funds for the compassionate end-of life care the charity provides. With three route options of three miles, six miles, or 13.1 miles (the equivalent of a half-marathon) it's a challenge the whole family can take on, from young children and teenagers through to seasoned long-distance ramblers of all ages.
Amid the promenade of warm-hearted, pink-clad walkers striding out from Home Park football stadium in memory of someone special will be Danielle Craig, a learning support practitioner at Cornwall's Duchy College, who will be honouring her late husband, Lee. Danielle was 23 when she met Lee Westcott, then 25, while a student at the college. She describes the first three weeks after meeting each other as a 'whirlwind', but reality soon hit hard when Lee was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
"Months of chemotherapy, months in hospital, a bone marrow transplant and months of recovery later, we finally had a chance to be a somewhat 'normal' couple, with meals out, date nights and a summer ball," said Danielle. However, the leukaemia came back, and with it five devastating words that Lee and Danielle had to come to terms with: "This really isn't good news." The couple, from Ernesettle, decided to get married and, with help from The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation, they enjoyed a beau.